Single-channel wireless communications networks are relatively simple to operate and provide an efficient method for a finite number of participants to exchange data. A common network structure is to permit one participant, or node, to establish a link over the network channel so that it may send a message to another participant, or node. This arrangement is currently being used to communicate STANAG 5066 data over a single-channel wireless HF network.
Wireless networks, especially HF networks, may be susceptible to interference during transmission. Such interference may cause a message sent over the network to not be completely received. Known HF networks employ a protocol in which an entire message is re-sent if any portion of the message has not been received. If large files are to be sent over the network, such a protocol has the potential to slow down or even halt transmission of data over the network. This is especially troubling if the network operates over a single channel, in which case every node in the network must wait until a message between two of the nodes is successfully transmitted.
It is therefore an object of the invention to increase the amount of data that can be transmitted on a single-channel wireless network.
It is another object of the invention to compensate for the adverse effects of interference encountered on a single-channel wireless network.
A feature of the invention is a message protocol that only re-sends portions of a previously sent message that are acknowledged as unreceived.
An advantage of the invention is an increase in the efficiency of message transmissions over a single-channel wireless network.